Showing 44 posts from 2012.
Michigan will Pursue Federal Partnership for its Health Insurance Exchange
At the end of August, Governor Rick Snyder announced that Michigan will be pursuing a federal-state partnership for its health insurance exchange. Health insurance exchanges are a requirement of the federal Health Care Reform law. Health insurance exchanges are designed to facilitate the purchase of health insurance by consumers through an online, cost-competitive forum. Each state has the option to: (1) operate its own health insurance exchange; (2) partner with the federal government; or (3) allow the federal government to manage its health insurance exchange. Read More ›
Categories: Employee Benefits, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchange, Insurance, Regulatory
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Foster Swift Lawyers Attend Annual State Bar of Michigan Health Care Law Section Meeting
Foster Swift lawyers were well represented at the Annual Meeting of the State Bar of Michigan's Health Care Law Section held on September 19th. Gilbert Frimet, Gary McRay, Jennifer Kildea Dewane, and Nicole Stratton, members of Foster Swift Health Care Law Practice Group, all traveled to Detroit to attend the meeting. Read More ›
Categories: Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchange, Hospitals, Insurance, Medicare/Medicaid, Physicians, Regulatory
Employers Must Provide Notice of Health Insurance Exchanges
With the United States Supreme Court having ruled that nearly all of the provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“PPACA”) are constitutional, employers are legally obligated to comply with PPACA's requirements. One such requirement of particular interest to employers is the employee health insurance exchange notice requirement. Read More ›
Categories: Employee Benefits, Employment, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance Exchange, Insurance
Proposed Rules Would Allow Physician Assistants to Prescribe Schedule 2 Controlled Substances
The Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine have proposed amendments to the administrative rules governing the delegation of prescribing authority to physician assistants. Under the existing rules, a physician may only delegate to physician assistants the authority to prescribe controlled substances that are listed in the Federal Drug and Enforcement Administration’s (“DEA’s”) Schedules 3 to 5. The proposed amendments would eliminate that limitation and allow physicians to authorize physician assistants to prescribe Schedule 2 controlled substances. Read More ›
Categories: Hospitals, Physicians, Regulatory
Governor Snyder Proposes Total Overhaul to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan
Governor Rick Snyder in a press conference this morning proposed a total overhaul of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan ("BCBSM"). Governor Snyder's proposal would:
- covert BCBSM to a non-profit mutual company;
- end its tax exemption; and
- remove Attorney General review of requested rates.
In essence, Michigan would treat BCBSM as it would any other health insurer as BCBSM would be regulated by the Insurance Code. While this proposal may seem drastic, it is not surprising given recent regulation orders by the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation ("OFIR") curtailing BCBSM's use of most favored nation clauses ("MFN Clauses") and rejecting the low rates that it charges to hospitals and other providers. Read More ›
Categories: Hospitals, Insurance, Physicians, Regulatory
ERISA Challenge to Michigan’s Health Insurance Claims Tax is Rejected
On August 31, 2012, a federal district court ruled that the Michigan Health Insurance Claims Assessment Act is not preempted by the federal Employee Retirement Income Security Act. The act imposes a 1% tax on paid health insurance claims for services rendered in Michigan to residents of Michigan. The tax is assessed against commercial insurers, HMOs, nonprofit health and dental corporations, Medicaid managed care organizations, specialty prepaid health plans, third-party administrators, and group health plan sponsors. The act, which took effect on January 1, 2012 and expires on December 31, 2013, authorizes the state to collect up to $400 million in revenues each year, which are used to fund the Michigan state share of the Medicaid program. When combined with the federal multiplier, the tax will generate $2.4 billion in funding for Michigan’s Medicaid program. Read More ›
Categories: Employee Benefits, Insurance, Tax
Upcoming Workshop to Address Most-Favored-Nation- Clauses - Just Announced
On August 17, 2012, the Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that they will hold a joint public workshop addressing insurers’ use of most-favored-nation clauses (“MFNs”). The all-day workshop will be held on September 10, 2012 in Washington DC and will be in-person, free and open to the public. At the workshop, the agencies intend “to explore the use of MFN clauses and the implications for antitrust enforcement and policy.” The workshop will also include a series of panel discussions examining the legal treatment of MFNs, the economic theories concerning MFNs, and their impact upon the health care industry. Read More ›
Categories: Hospitals, Insurance, Physicians
Supplemental Retirement Plan Considerations for Health Care Managers
For health care managers, there are a number of available options and strategies to consider when planning for retirement. In addition to traditional employer plans, an exempt health care provider may also offer supplemental plan options to its managers and highly compensated employees. Taking advantage of such benefits may prove to be a wise investment decision for health care managers. Read More ›
Categories: Employee Benefits, Employment, Hospitals, Physicians, Retirement
Supreme Court Holds that a Patent of the Process of Administering a Drug is Invalid
Recently in the case of Mayo Collaborative Services v Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., the Supreme Court of the United States found two patents invalid because they claimed subject matter that was not patentable. The patents in this case covered processes that help doctors who use thiopurine drugs to treat patients with autoimmune diseases determine whether a given dosage was too high or too low. Read More ›
Categories: Patents
Succession Planning Tips for Physicians
It is now widely accepted that planning for retirement is vitally important. However, many business owners, including physicians, fail to properly plan for the transition of their businesses upon the owner’s or primary physician's retirement. In fact, lack of succession planning is one of the most common reasons small medical practices fail. In order to avoid such a result in your practice, please consider the following succession planning tips: Read More ›
Categories: Physicians, Retirement
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Best Lawyers® 2021
Congratulations to the attorneys of the Health Care practice group at Foster Swift Collins & Smith, PC for their inclusion in the Best Lawyers in America 2021 edition. Firm-wide, 44 lawyers were listed. Best Lawyers lists are compiled based on an exhaustive peer-review evaluation and as lawyers are not required or allowed to pay a fee to be listed; inclusion in Best Lawyers is considered a singular honor. Health Care practice group members listed in Best Lawyers are as follows:
- Jennifer B. Van Regenmorter, Holland
To see the full list of Foster Swift attorneys listed in Best Lawyers 2021, click here.